Risks
by mlw217
Summary: Mary's life is going on as it always does until a huge event changes everything. Mary has to push through injury to escape her predicament and find a way to save a witness. R&R please!
1. Chapter 1

Risks

"Mary Shannon, pleased to meet you! I have heard so much about you." An overly animated voice greeted her with an infuriating tenor of excitement. The woman grabbed Mary's hand and shook it furiously up and down way too many times.

The woman who stood in front of her had a bulky yellow bow in her long bleached curls that fell a good way past her shoulders. She was about three inches shorter than Mary and her soft brown eyes stared up at her with admiration. She had a ridiculous bright orange shirt and shiny, black leather pants. Her flip-flops were rainbow, Mary noticed, as the woman in front her shifted in her stance. "My name is Claudia!" Her voice pierced through the fog of sleep Mary had not yet broken through. Mary's eyes were wide and her brows drew together as she looked for help from her sister. Brandi glanced apprehensively at her and smiled apologetically. Now that Mary had woken up a little more than before, she could smell the slight stench of alcohol and a hint of weed on Claudia's breath.

Mary jerked her head to glare at Brandi and motioned for her to follow her into the kitchen, leaving Claudia in the den. "What are you doing? Why would you bring her here? I can smell the drugs, Brandi." The harshness in Mary's voice elevated and was accented with disbelief.

"I can explain, Mary. She needed a place to stay. Her boyfriend is abusive and she was running away from him. She had no where else to go." Brandi pleaded fiercely with her sister while glancing around her tentatively. She swallowed and waited for Mary's response.

"Brandi, you know you can't bring people here. Especially if they have any affiliation with drugs. You should know this better than anyone. I can't believe you. This isn't just you on the line; I took up for you and if the FBI were to find anything, my job would be in jeopardy." Mary's voice had escalated to more than a strained whisper and almost to a yell. How could her sister be this stupid? Then a flood of memories came back to her. Terror, sweat, and a gunshot. She snapped out of it and back into reality as quickly as she could.

"I'm sorry, Mary. I'll get her out of here." Brandi looked and sounded like a scolded toddler, being told not to play with dangerous silverware. Mary rolled her eyes dramatically and ran her hands through her hair as she sighed, stressed out already. Her day hadn't even begun and she was pretty sure it wasn't going to be good.

Mary got dressed, fixed coffee, checked on Brandi, and left for work. As soon as she walked into the office, she sighed, relived. "Rough morning, Mary?" A mocking voice came from a desk and she chuckled at Marshall.

"You could say that, I guess." She would leave it at that. "Do we have anything going on today?" Mary set her stuff down, straightening her jacket, and turned around.

"Jerry Alder's wife was killed yesterday." A deep sadness seeped through Marshall's voice and Mary nodded, determined and distressed.

"Let's go." Mary walked quickly back through the doors she came in while Marshall grabbed his things frantically and almost tripped. Today was going to be another interesting day with Mary in one of her moods.

_This is my first In Plain Sight fanfic. Please review!!!! Thanks! –soccergirlmich--_


	2. Chapter 2

Risks

"As a reminder, Jerry Alder is a little emotional..." Marshall warned Mary as they walked out to the crime scene. This was a major understatement. Jerry's emotional reactions were amplified 10 times any normal reactions. Mary clenched her jaw, getting ready for another case.

They found Jerry sitting on the curb in front of his house with tears streaming from his eyes. He had a balding head and bright blue eyes. He wore a button down light purple shirt with large blood stains spattered all over it. His jeans were faded and the blood adorned the pants on his knees. He brought his knees to his chest and tried to calm his breathing, rocking back and forth. Mary looked down on him sympathetically and sat down next to him, putting a caring hand on his shoulder.

"Jerry? Will you tell us what happened?" Mary softened her voice and her brows drew together as she waited for an answer. Jerry sniffed as he looked up from his soaked lap to meet Mary's eyes.

"I just went out for grocery's!" He wailed at Mary, causing her to widen her eyes and move back a little.

"Jerry, calm down. We are just trying to help. Tell us everything that you saw when you came home." Her voice had hardened a tiny fraction, as she was beginning to get impatient. Jerry's face was soaked and his cleft chin was turned up as he tried to pull himself together.

"I came home and the door was wide open...Everything in the house was messed up." He paused, choked up. "She was on the floor. I didn't know what to do. I knew it was them." If Jerry had been calm before, he wasn't now. He was sobbing loudly as Mary rubbed his back. She stood up and shook her head, proceeding into the house, Marshall following closely behind her. Jerry still sat on the curb balling his eyes out.

"Wow...I don't think I really remembered how bad he was. Has he been going to counseling?" Mary stopped once she was inside the house and turned to Marshall.

"Yeah. He goes twice a week." Marshall sighed, glancing around the house. He leaned on the wall behind him and waited for Mary's point.

"Well whoever is counseling isn't doing a very good job. He is even worse than I remember. I think he needs to go everyday." Marshall laughed in agreement. Her eyes were wide as she spotted the crime scene. There were many people in CSI jackets crawling around the house taking evidence and Mary didn't know where to start.

"Mary, there's Jennifer Alder's sister." Marshall pointed to a mourning face standing, looking out the window with a slightly bitter look in her wide eyes. Her brown hair waved around her face and she appeared to be shaking. Mary made her way to the window, dodging the many yellow numbers on the ground.

"Katy?" Mary touched her shoulder and smiled sadly at her when she looked up, startled. "I am so sorry for your loss." Katy looked down and nodded, a tear falling down her face. "I was told that you were here when Jennifer was killed." Mary said this as nicely as she could, but there was no way to put that pleasantly. Katy winced and sniffed before she spoke.

"Yeah...I was upstairs when I heard her scream." She said, her voice shaky. Katy glanced out the window, an angry flare crossed her face briefly.

"Katy? Why do you not like Jerry?" Mary bit her bottom lip and waited as Katy looked up at her with a staggered gaze. She pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. After a long pause, she spoke hesitantly.

"It's all his fault this happened. I told Jen to stay away from him. I told her he was big trouble. She didn't listen and now look what happened." She pointed to her sisters mangled body and doubled over, sobbing. Mary opened her mouth to speak, but she didn't know what to say. Instead, she grabbed her in a hug and told her everything was going to be alright. "Gallant did this. Gallant did this." Katy said this through tears and Mary let her go immediately.

"What? Who is that?" Confusion filled Mary's eyes. Mary noticed Marshall talking with one of the CSI men, but focused back on Katy's news. Katy's eyes held immense fear and terror as she realized what she had said.

"Oh no...I shouldn't have said that." Katy was panicking and mumbling under her breath, eyes wide and unblinking. Mary grabbed Katy's shoulders and shook her, making her pay attention.

"Katy, look at me. Tell me who you are talking about." Her voice was frantic and dangerous as she spoke each word carefully. Katy looked up, with pleading eyes and shook her head. Mary held her gaze and stared, waiting.

"I can't. It's not safe, people will die. This is only the beginning." There was real warning in her voice. Mary's grip loosened, but Katy's shoulders shook more. Suddenly, there was a loud crash and several screams.

Mary jumped and pulled Katy with her to the floor and waited for the dust to settle. A part of the ceiling had fallen, almost crushing both Mary and Katy.

"Mary! Mary!" She heard Marshall's worried voice yelling. Mary coughed as she felt the dust entering her system.

"Katy? You okay?" She pulled her up and made sure she was alright. Mary glanced over to the fallen sheet rock and gasped, breathing in more dust. There was a body on the floor, bloody and dismembered. Whoever the Marshals were dealing with was very dangerous. This was going to be a daunting case.

Marshall and all of the CSI jackets were frozen in shock, looking at the scene in front of them.

_Thanks for the review __scoobygang101_!! _Please keep them coming. R&R!!! –soccergirlmich--_


	3. Chapter 3

Risks

Katy was frozen in shock and it took a couple tries to snap her out of it. Mary tried to shake her own alarm quickly as she nearly drug Katy from the now double crime scene. They didn't have an id on the corpse that fell through the ceiling, but Marshall was told that they were making this case their top priority. Mary sat Katy down and walked over to Marshall.

"What is going on?" Mary's eyes were wide and she brushed off some white dust.

"They're working on it. This is some crazy day, Mary. I'm not sure what to make of this." Marshall said this and shook his head.

"Well...I am going to go to the office to get Eleanor to look something up for us. Will you keep an eye on them?" Mary pointed to a scared to death Katy and the sobbing Jerry Alder. Mary shook her head and left hurriedly.

..........

"Eleanor, will you find out all you can about Jerry Alder and Katy Sheryl? You wouldn't believe what has happened today." Mary let out a tense breath and sat down at her desk. She didn't see Eleanor roll her eyes dramatically as she organized files on her desk.

"Sure. What happened?" Eleanor figured if she had to look things up, she would at least be well informed.

"Marshall and I went to see Jerry Alder because his wife, Jennifer, was murdered. When we got inside to the crime scene, I saw Katy, Jennifer's sister. I was talking to her about some guy named Gallant and a body fell through the ceiling. It nearly crushed us. She is hysterical now, so it is going to be no picnic getting it out of her now." Mary gritted her teeth and typed something into her computer.

"Is she okay? It didn't hit anyone did it?" Eleanor's concerned tone surprised Mary.

"Yeah, she's fine...well physically. Thank goodness it didn't hit anyone. It could have killed someone." Mary got up and pulled on her jacket. "Thanks. Call me if you find anything." Mary left the building in a rush. Stan walked into the room and looked at Eleanor.

"She's in a good mood today." Eleanor said this with surprise in her voice. Stan smiled, shrugged, and winked at her.

...........

"Marshall, I'm almost there. I have an idea. We are taking Katy and Jerry with us." Marshall could hear the smile in Mary's mischevious voice. She hung up and pulled into the driveway of Jerry Alder's crime scene house. Marshall led both of the witnesses into the back of the SUV and he sat in the passenger seat.

"Where are we going?" Katy's shaken voice spoke up from the back seat.

"We are driving to see Charlie Alder." Both Jerry and Katy gasped and started protesting. "Hey! Calm down. We need to ask him some questions and it would be great if you could help. I'm sure he has some information that we don't." Mary's voice was stern and full of authority. Marshall smiled, looking out of the window. He knew not to argue with Mary, and he was glad that he wasn't the only one who was slightly afraid of her. A silence settled over the car and for over half an hour, they drove on.

"I need to go to the rest room, Mary. Can we stop up here?" Jerry pointed to the gas station that was coming up on the right. Mary sighed and nodded reluctantly. She slowed down and pulled into the nearly vacant station.

"Marshall, will you go with him? I'll stay with Katy." Mary asked, but it wasn't really a question. Marshall escorted Jerry and Mary stayed in the car. She turned around and asked, "Do you need anything? Are you hungry?" Katy nodded and smiled. "Alright. Let's go. I'll get you something."

They walked into the convenient store and picked up a couple of snacks. Mary grabbed something for Marshall and Jerry and waited patiently for them to get out. As Mary and Katy walked along the isles, a large man and a smaller one walked into the store. They had a dangerous air about them. Mary watched them carefully and narrowed her eyes. She felt like something was going to happen and it wasn't a good feeling. Katy could feel something too, because she kept fidgeting nervously.

Then everything happened in slow motion. Mary saw Marshall and Jerry walk out of the men's bathroom, Katy slowly stood up, and the strange men smiled and pulled out a couple of large guns. Mary's mouth opened wide and she yelled a warning to Marshall. Mary's hand flew to her side and she pulled out her sig. Her heart pounded in her chest as she took a deep breath. The guns weren't aimed at her and she realized that Katy was the target. Her eyes widened and she jumped in front of her helpless witness. Mary's gun was out in front of her and she shot twice, hitting her two targets right in the heart. She was too late though, because the two men had fired first. Even though there was no more danger for her witnesses or her partner, her fight was only just beginning. An unbelievable pain entered her abdomen. Mary screamed and fell to the ground just wanting to be dead. If she was dead, she wouldn't feel the horrible pain. Her blonde hair fell in her face and she held her stomach, still yelling.

_Sorry for the long wait, but please review and tell me what you think! R&R!! :D –soccergirlmich--_


	4. Chapter 4

Risks

_To: myeyesareblueastheocean- I am not quite sure whether if this is M/M yet, but it might develop into that because I rather like them together...I'm not sure yet. But suggestions would help!_

_Thank you all for your awesome reviews! ....back to the story. :D_

Marshall sprinted, getting the guns away from the dead hostiles as a precaution and flew to Mary's side. He saw Katy in shock with tears running down her face and Jerry trying to console her without any luck, but that didn't matter. Mary's eyes were red with tears of pain and blood pooled on the floor.

Mary could feeling the scalding bullet lodged in her stomach and every move she made caused more pain. She had done her job though. She saved her witnesses and that was all that mattered. A hot and sticky red substance ran through her fingers and it scared her to death, but she couldn't let Marshall see her fear.

"Mary!" Marshall couldn't believe what was happening. Mary was always the strong one and he didn't quite know what to do. "Mary, hold on, okay? Breathe." He said this as Mary was holding her breath, thinking it would relieve her pain. Marshall took out his cell, nearly dropping it and dialed Stan's number. While he waited for someone to pick up, he pulled off his jacket and held it firmly to Mary's wound. She moaned in protest of the new pain in her stomach.

"Hello. This is Stan's office, Eleanor speaking." Her voice was sweet and helpful sounding. Marshall had forgotten that Eleanor was there and he didn't have time to wait for Stan.

"Eleanor, it's Marshall: this is an emergency so listen carefully. Mary had been shot and we need an ambulance. These two guys were trying to kill Katy and Mary jumped in front of her. Mary shot them both and they're dead. I don't know if there are any more of them. We're in a convenient store off highway 11." Marshall's voice was fearful and urgent. Eleanor swallowed and shook her head against this news. This was horrible.

"Ok. I'll tell Stan and we'll be over there as soon as possible. How bad is it?" Her voice was worried and shaking. She heard Marshall sigh and clear his throat nervously.

"Pretty bad. Hurry." Marshall hung up and turned his full attention to Mary. "We've got to get you out of here." He looked around and had no idea what to do.

"No. Look over there." Her voice was strained and cracked with pain while she pointed to Marshall's right. Her face was scrunched in agony, but she sat up, glaring ahead of her. Marshall did what he was told and stood, lifting his gun in response. There was a man creeping towards him with a pistol aimed at their two witnesses. Mary stood up with her gun, tears streaming from her eyes. The pain was unbelievable. A burning, stabbing feeling overtook her mind. She doubled over, nearly falling over. Before she could, she focused on the danger in front of her. Mary squeezed her eyes tight and walked in front of Katy and Jerry. Every muscle in her body tensed, trying to support her weight. Her core was useless because of the bullet, but Mary would not give up. No one would hurt her witnesses if she could help it. Determination pulsed adrenaline through her veins and she stood a little straighter, feeling the blood loss a little less.

"Put the gun down, or die." Mary's voice was weak, but extremely dangerous. She was not kidding. The gunman glanced at Mary's wound and laughed comically. There was a loud bang and the man's gun dropped to the floor. He was on the floor writhing in pain, holding his thigh, screaming. Marshall flashed to get the gun and raised his brows at Mary. He couldn't believe his partner. She had just saved their lives for the second time in five minutes.

Mary closed her eyes and dropped to her knees, dizzy. Marshall was at her side in an instant laying her on the ground, feeling exceedingly helpless. Katy had stopped crying and kneeled by Mary's head, her eyes wide with all kinds of emotions. Jerry was motionless and shocked, standing by the door.

..........

Eleanor ran to Stan's office as fast as her heels would allow and entered without knocking like usual. "Stan!" Her eyes were wide and she interrupted Stan's important meeting. Stan's eyes were in unbelief. He shook his head and gritted his teeth, telling her to go away.

"This is important. Could you excuse us?" She turned to the man who happened to be Stan's boss.

"Eleanor, this is Director Sheridan." Stan's eyes were hard and slightly angry. "We are kind of in the middle of an important meeting, if you could wait."

"Stan, Mary's been shot." She spoke the words with irritation spewing. She watched as Stan's eyes widened and he stood. "I called an ambulance for them and we need to get over there. Now." She spoke with authority as she glanced at the Director.

"Sorry, Director. We are going to have to reschedule." Stan didn't wait for a response as he left with Eleanor. His eyes were apologetic towards the director and to Eleanor who was silent as they got into the car. Stan got into the passenger seat and sighed as Eleanor sped off angrily.

"What happened?" Stan's voice changed from ashamed to authoritative.

"Marshall said that they let Jerry Alder and Katy Sheryl take a rest stop at a convenient store and two men came in. They had guns and were going to shoot Katy but Mary jumped in front of her, shooting them both. She didn't shoot in time though. The two guys are dead." Eleanor had changed her tone to a reporting one instead of the condescending one she had before. Stan was in silent shock and he swallowed.

"Anything else?" His voice was mock calm.

"It's bad. That's it." Eleanor looked worried and she stepped on the gas.

..........

Meanwhile, sirens filled the air and blue-red lights cut through the sunset sky. Mary grew weaker and weaker as the seconds wore on. "Marshall, take them to Charlie's and don't let anything happen to them." Mary whispered as Marshall held her hand. He shook his head and closed his eyes.

"No. I'm not leaving you." Mary rolled her eyes and put her hand on his face. Marshall closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I'll be fine, Marshall. As soon as they fix me up, I'll be right with you." She smiled and slapped his cheek softly. "They'll take care of me. You've done your part." Mary's eyes drooped and she spoke again. "Will you call Jinx, Brandi, and Raph for me?" Marshall nodded and lifted his jacket from her stomach. It looked really bad. "Thank you, Marshall. I owe you one. Now go." She forced the words to be hard. Marshall stood as the paramedics arrived and he stole one last glance as he dragged Jerry and Katy away to his car.

Mary grinned and looked one tall paramedic who asked her how she was doing. "Just great, man." The paramedic smiled at her and pulled the jacket off. His eyes narrowed and he gave Mary a disbelieving glance.

_Thank you guys!! More reviews! The more I get, the faster I review! :D Tell me what you think! –soccergirlmich--_


	5. Chapter 5

Risks

Disclaimer: I don't own In Plain Sight....

Mary swallowed back her fears and gritted her teeth as the paramedics rushed around her weak, agonizing body. Her eyes held tears that threatened to fall, but she wouldn't let the pain show. As one of the paramedics put more pressure on her abdomen, she groaned and closed her eyes tight. She began to feel a coldness coming over her, spreading throughout her body like a wildfire and it terrified her. She felt herself shaking against the sudden temperature change and a warm hand on her wrist, undoubtedly checking her pulse. Mary didn't know what was happening to her. Anything she knew about was how she was feeling in that moment. It petrified her to near paralysis that she had no control over the situation and she didn't know how to stop herself from dying or feeling this pain. All she was thinking was the night when she had been tied up in that basement. A loud gunshot and smoke, then blood...but this time it was her blood she saw. She couldn't help but wonder why she wasn't unconscious yet, but she wanted it to come soon.

Meanwhile, in the black SUV, Marshal drove, his heart rate well beyond normal while he attempted to dial Mary's families' number. Finally, he stopped shaking enough to get Brandi's number out. He heard the phone ring twice and then Brandi answered, sounding cheery as usual. Marshal frowned, knowing that she wouldn't be feeling like this for a long time after he told her about Mary.

"Brandi, It's Marshal." His voice cracked with emotion.

"Hey Marshal, what's happening? Are you having fun? Mary was in a horrible mood this morning...and I was kind of the reason for that. I hope she didn't take it out on you." Her voice was sweet with true concern, though that was the least of her worries.

"Um...no. I called to tell you about what happened today. I'm sure you were going to hear about this even if I didn't call...but Mary asked me to call you and if you would tell Jinx and Raph, that would make my job a lot easier." He rambled on, only slightly paying attention to the road in front of him, his speedometer escalating faster and faster. "What I'm trying to say....is that while we were taking a rest stop at a convenient store, Mary was shot." He just came out with it, not knowing how to break something of this magnitude to her. There was a long silence on the other end and Katy Sheryl was trying to get Marshal's attention. The speed had gone well over eighty and was almost to ninety miles per hour. Jerry was holding on for dear life and his eyes were fearful.

Brandi couldn't believe what she was hearing. Maybe she heard Marshal wrong and they would laugh over it together in a little while. Her heart beat fast, hammering in her neck while she tried to find her voice. "Wh-what? I think I heard you wrong. Would you repeat that?" Her voice was small and shaking in apprehension.

"No Brandi. You heard exactly right. Oh!!!" Marshal had glanced down at his speedometer and slammed his foot on the breaks, squealing across the pavement before he spun wildly and crashed into a tree.

"Marshal! Marshal!" Brandi had heard screams and an enormous crash. She continued to call for him, but got no response.

Marshal had dropped his cell phone and banged his hand against the steering wheel. He cursed loudly towards the tree and looked around vehemently to see if his passengers were alright. Katy sat quietly, in shock, and Jerry stared unwaveringly at the huge tree in front of him, his eyes wide. Marshal rubbed his eyes angrily, sighed, and searched the floor board for his phone; all the while, cursing under his breath. When he picked up the phone, he heard Brandi's frantic voice yelling his name.

"Brandi, we just hit a tree. I'm gonna have to call you back." He spoke through gritted teeth and threw the phone down next to him.

Eleanor and Stan skidded to a halt at the convenient store where police cars and ambulances crowded the diminutive parking lot. They both got out hurriedly and slammed their doors; not even bothering to lock the doors. Eleanor's face was extremely worried and Stan's was trying to be all business. Neither of the expressions were working as they entered the store to see Mary's nearly lifeless body on the ground with dark red blood pooled around her. The paramedics looked up and started to ask for id, but Mary protested.

"Their fine, Max, he's my boss." Her voice was small, raspy, and full of pain. The paramedic stepped aside and spoke.

"I'm going to get the stretcher." He lowered his voice so only Stan and Eleanor could hear him, "We need to hurry. We don't have much time." Eleanor's eyes were wide as she walked towards Mary and knelt beside her. She grabbed Mary's hand and swallowed nervously, tears burning at the brink of her eyes.

"Mary." She stopped and closed her eyes, not believing what she was seeing. A small, nearly invisible tear fell slowly down her cheek: Mary was the strongest person she knew. Mary was shaking in pain and cold and she let out a labored breath with a smile.

"Eleanor, I'm fine. Don't worry about this. I'll be back at work in no time." Her voice was quiet and both Stan and Eleanor could hear the pain hiding behind her normal facade. She closed her eyes and groaned, covering it quickly with a dark cackle. "It's a little cold in here though." Her teeth chattered together and she shook even more than before.

"Mary, where is Marshal?" Stan's brows drew together as he noticed the absence of Mary's very loyal partner. Marshal wouldn't leave Mary there alone for anything in the world.

"I told him to take Katy….and Jerry…" She stopped and began a coughing fit. Stan and Eleanor looked at each other with fear in their blurry eyes.

The paramedics jogged into the room and everything happened in fast forward. They lifted her onto the gurney and rolled her outside and into the ambulance. As the ambulance sped away, the lights and sirens blaring, Stan and Eleanor stared after it not knowing what to do or say. With the ambulance, left the strength, wit, courage, and heart of the team. Stan and Eleanor stood with vacant gazes radiating from them and Marshal stood, looking at his totaled SUV with a hopelessness in his heart and eyes....

_Thank you guys for reading my story! It means so much! _ Please give me some feedback! It really helps me! R&R!!!! –soccergirlmich--


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